The Fanfiction Guide
by littlebitclever
Summary: A guide to writing a fanfiction story of all things Percy. Offense is not meant to be given to any writer. An easy reference to use when starting a new story.
1. Characterization

Okay, kids! I guess you know that by the title, this is a friendly page where you can learn to write fanfiction better!

Now, before I get into all the details and everything, please know that _I am not perfect_. I may be saying some things on here, and you'll clutch your hair in desperation, with much moaning and gnashing of teeth.

"_But LBC," _you cry, _"I was just reading one of your chapters, and you totally broke one of your own rules! Hypocrite! _

Yes yes yes, tell me something I don't know. Nobody's is perfect, not even Hannah Montana, so don't go banging my head in whenever I don't follow something that I say. I am incredibly lazy. I hate editing. Despise it. It drives me crazy because it just takes up time...that I can afford to waste, actually. Did I mention I was lazy?

Now that all of that is out of the way, I thought we'd start with something at little simple.

Or, maybe not that simple.

Mostly, I just want to get this section out of the way.

* * *

**Characterization! **

_[cue trumpet fanfare and moaning]_

**Part 1: Getting the Main Characters Right**

Now, first I'll explain why this thing seems so easy, yet so incredibly hard. One thing that I've noticed is that whenever I'm writing an original story of mine, characterization can be easy to me _because I am familiar with my own characters_. I can easily think of what they might say, do, or think, because I am the person that created them.

BUT, when writing fanfiction, making sure that the characters you are writing about are following the guidelines that the fabulous (or maybe not-so-fabulous) Double R lay down is a bit trickier. These characters are not your own, so it's much more difficult for you to understand how they will act in certain situations that the obnoxious gods throw at them.

* * *

**Annabeth**

Now, one thing that I find incredibly annoying is when people just completely get the characters wrong. Specifically, Percy and Annabeth. _So_ many people always portray Percy as a one-sided idiot that can't even tie his shoelaces, and Annabeth as a pouty whiny fool that gets mind-numbing flares of jealousy about every single little thing and I just cna't evne t ype rihgt nw.

**YOU.**  
**GUYS.**

Annabeth ran away from home when she was seven. _Seven_. What were you doing when you were seven? Playing princesses and watching Disney movies? _[Please, I don't need an onslaught of whatever you were doing when you were seven in the reviews. Keep it to yourself] _Annabeth was taking out monsters with a hammer! She managed to take care of herself before she met Luke and Thalia. She is independent, intelligent, and calculating. I'm pretty sure she doesn't whine whenever Percy doesn't give her a goodbye kiss at the lockers or whatever. I have seen this way too many times:

"_Annabeth, what's wrong?" Percy asked, looking concerned._

"_Nothing," she snapped, turning away from him and flicking her hair over her shoulder in a conceited way._

"_No, please, I want to fix it." Percy grabbed her shoulder and turned her around. She glared at him._

"_I can't believe you forgot! I thought you cared about me!" Her lower lip trembled._

"_I do! Tell me what I did."_

_She sucked in a breath, holding back tears. "You didn't tell me you loved me before you went to class. You didn't even kiss me! How am I supposed to know that you care about me if you don't even do something that simple? I am so DONE with you, Percy Jackson!"_

Oooh-kay, maybe I overdid it a bit, but I think you get the point. Annabeth don't need no man to make her feel good about herself. I'm pretty sure she doesn't need five minutes reminder that Percy cares about her.

Please! Put yourself in her shoes. Think about what has happened to her throughout her life. She may be blunt, but don't give her the emotions of a rock, but don't make her prissy either. That is the complete opposite of her personality.

* * *

**Percy**

I'm going to say this once. Maybe twice. Percy is not stupid. I repeat. _Percy is NOT STUPID._

Maybe people are trying to get down the humor and sarcasm that Percy has, but they're failing. Even I suck at it. But remember, Percy does not skip down the halls gleefully, sucking lollipops. He does not pout childishly (usually). He doesn't whine like a baby whenever he doesn't get something that he wants, unless he's being funny about it.

_"Percy, would you please stop?" Annabeth asked, angrily squeezing water out of her hair._

_"Why? It's fun!" Percy said, spinning around, splashing Annabeth with a tidal wave._

_"No, it's not! You got seawater in my eyes!"_

_Percy just giggled. "Oh, sorry, I forgot you get wet! What would happen if I do...this!"_

_Annabeth pushed Percy out of the way just in time. "No, I'm done. I'm tired of you acting like a child. Come to me when you've learned to grow up."_

People, puh-_lease_. He does not have the personality of a five year old. He's sixteen, almost seventeen, for goodness sake! Same with Annabeth, he can take care of himself. It took him _five books_ before he got in a relationship. Remember that third book, The Titans Curse? Annabeth was not with him. He managed. Sure, he was going to save her, but he was not holding her hand with every step he took.

* * *

**Overview of Part 1**

1. Annabeth can take care of herself. She's independent

2. Make Percy intelligent and actually have a brain. Don't make him an idiot

3. For help with characters, go back to the books! Think of how they'll react in situations and put yourself in their shoes, and if you need help, just look back at what Riordan has written. That will _always_ be a good guide. He knows the characters better than anyone

* * *

And now, the second half:

**Part Two: Your Original Characters**

_[ugh, really?]_

Yes.

I know.

"_But LBC," _you pout, _"they're called original characters for a reason! They're mine, so I'll do whatever I want with them!"_

Honeys, I know. They are called _original_ characters. They are 100% yours, so that means that you can do whatever you want with them, right?

Eh, kind of.

* * *

**Flaws**

People, the characters have to be realistic. Like I said above, _nobody's perfect_, not even Miss Rainbow Sunshine Pony that you came up with. Everybody has flaws! Flaws are good! They make a character stronger, not weaker, because they show that _they are human_. The only bad flaw that your character can have is perfection. Just...no.

Honestly, I'm afraid of using an OC in a story. I want them to blend in with the scenery and seem natural in the storyline. Kids, you don't want your OC to stick out like a sore thumb. If they do, that can be a sign that they are just too unrealistic.

Now, I'm going to use one OC in my story as an example _[however reluctant I may be]. _Her name is Bethany. One thing that I like about her is that she's impulsive, sometimes acts rashly, and is also independent. Another thing that I adore about her is that she's _insecure to be in a relationship_. I've noticed that a lot of people create an OC because they want them to have a romance. Not this chick. She doesn't like to get to attached to people because she knows that she can't handle the loss if they get hurt. Because of this, she's distant and can be lonely. She's not perfect! She's realistic! There are plenty of people out there that feel the same way that she does. That is her flaw.

* * *

**Imperfections of Skill and Appearance**

Your character can be athletic! They can be talented! They can have awesome powers! That's good! They just can't be good at everything. They can't all use a sword, knife, shield, bow and arrow, and spear and be amazing at all of them. That's unrealistic. Your character has to be bad at something to make them more relateable. (relatable? Word is getting mad at me for both of them)

Another way to show that your OC is realistic is to provide certain quirks about their features. They can't be muscled, attractive, and have perfect skin with incredible supermodel hair that's always flowing in the wind provided by an invisible fan. Having a character like that is hard to imagine. Give them a too big nose, maybe a scar on their arm, or a blemish on their skin.

* * *

**Parentage**

Finally, the last thing that I'm asking you to consider (you can ignore everything I've just said. I don't care) is the OC's parentage.

**Daughter of Hermes?** Excellent, young grasshopper

**Son of Apollo?** Fabulous!

**A satyr? A nymph?** Holy cow! You hardly see any of those!

**Child of a maiden goddess?** Slow down there, buddy

**Child of the Big Three?** Could you please not...?

**_Especially Poseidon?_ **Just stop.

Yes, yes, I know, _original characters_. But if you want to make your OC as realistic as humanly possible, don't make them a child of someone who wouldn't even have a child in the first place. Rick Riordan has made the exceptions, and that's it. No more. Set in stone. I can 99.9999999% guarantee that Ricky will not pull a daughter or son of Poseidon out of a hat. If he does, I'll eat my shorts. Marinate them and grill them and everything.

The subject above can segway into another thing:

Chaos stories.

But I think I'll save that for later. Maybe that'll be chapter two.

* * *

**Overview of Part Two!**

1. Give your character personality flaws! It creates stronger characters, trust me

2. An imperfect character is a perfect character

3. Make them realistic to the PJO world. Don't go on a heyday with their parents

* * *

Zoo wee mama, I think that's it. **Please know that I was not trying to bash any writer on this website in any way. No offense was meant to be given. I'm sorry if I insulted anyone.**

Also, know that none of us are perfect! We all make mistakes, but they can be fixed! I know that I have made plenty of mistakes in my writing, and I will make plenty more in the future. Remember, with practice, you'll get better. I swear on my fish's lives that you will.


	2. Anatagonists

Thank you for the reception on the last chapter! First, I want to apologize. The chapter on Characterization was rather blunt about things. Also, please know that these are things that I am coming up with off the top of my head, and I can be wrong some of the subjects. Also, this is advice! I'm not forcing anyone to value this like the Bible and follow every word. There are exceptions to everything I write (mostly).

I became so carried away with this idea that I wrote this chapter immediately after the first. It took a lot of self-restraint not to post it until today. I'm ridiculous.

* * *

**Antagonists!**

_[the people that are necessary for nearly every story]_

**Part 1: Break Away from the Cliché**

In this section, I'll be pulling some things off of the PJO wikia for reference, so ye have been warned.

Antagonists are the really the things that pull a story together, in my opinion. While you need three-dimensional, flawed characters - as we talked about in the previous chapter - they can't really do anything unless there's a problem. And that problem is nearly always set by the antagonist.

According to our lovely Google _[all bow down to the overlord]_, an antagonist is _"A person who actively opposes or is hostile to someone or something; an adversary"_ and/or _"A substance that interferes with or inhibits the physiological action of another." _So, Luke/Kronos is the antagonist in the PJO series, and Gaea the antagonist in HoO. Easy enough, right?

Sort of.

Antagonists can be tricky for me because they need substance. They need a reason to be so dastardly to our poor heroes. It is _**just as important**_ for your antagonist to be three-dimensional and flawed, just as your protagonist is. Antagonists need weaknesses and strengths that are relateable (relatable? I still don't know how to spell that word!), and if you've managed to do that, you'll have a deliciously evil character to work with. Remember, antagonists need a motive. If you just have them doing bad for badness's sake, you won't really be getting anywhere. They'll just be flat and stagnant. A well-written antagonist will attract readers like moths to a flame.

* * *

**Rachel**

You guys, please! This kills me on the inside. My heart stops every time I see it. The poor girl. She is one of the most used antagonists in many of the PJO fanfictions out there. One of the reasons why, I think, is because she was a roadblock in the Percy/Annabeth relationship, which made her extremely easy to dislike_. _Since the writer _[You, not RR]_ originally hated her, she's a very easy pick to make her be the snotty brat that flings herself seductively on Percy at Goode highschool, causing Annabeth to be steaming from the ears with jealousy (because Annabeth obviously transferred. Duh).

Remember Characterization? _This still applies here_. I will now draw from the Camp Half-Blood wikia. And I quote, _"Rachel is very artistic, intelligent, and __**kind. She enjoys volunteering for charity..."**_ She volunteers for charity, kids! If that's not kind, I don't know what is. I may as well redefine my whole life and get plastic surgery.

* * *

**Calypso**

Again, I'm begging you not to use her. I'm on my knees right now, hands clasped and pleading, whispering in your dreams and haunting you if you do. Calypso is one of the characters that I feel the most sympathy for. Every thousand years—give or take—the incredibly unlucky girl gets a gorgeous hero that she falls in love with, and every time, that boy has to leave. Guurl, I know how you feel.

Now, Calypso was slightly nasty in the myths, seductively luring boys onto her island so they'd never leave again and turning them into birds, but unless you're basing Calypso the Villain in Goode High School off of _this _Calypso in _the Odyssey_ (which I seriously doubt), I think you should reread the Battle of the Labyrinth again.

Calypso certainly did not seduce Percy (intentionally). She pulled away from him. And she sure as Ogygia did not turn Percy into a bird. I think he'd have a nervous breakdown if he relived his nightmarish guinea pig experience. She nourished him and nursed him back to health, and while she wanted him to stay, she didn't turn on her womanly charms to enchant him into staying forever. Personally, I think she is a very strong character for having to endure this so many times. Guize, Calypso is a sweetie.

* * *

**Overview of Part 1**

_[cause I like doing them]_

1. Antagonists need substance. They are just as important to characterize as protagonists. If they aren't detailed, they'll be flat and boring

2. Rachel donates to charity. She is not a slutty girl that wears too much makeup. She also respects Percy and Annabeth's relationship. Same applies to Calypso—minus the charity bit. I seriously doubt they have charities on Ogygia

3. To avoid the cliché, don't rely on Calypso and Rachel as the baddie. There are plenty of people you can use out there, trust me...

* * *

...Which leads on to part two!

**Part 2: Finding the Right Bad Guy**

Bad guys are hard to write! It's probably because I'm one of those annoyingly sensitive people that just can't understand why people have to be mean. I just want world peace and sparkly rainbows all around, but unfortunately, that's never going to happen. Also, I can sometimes get so carried away when writing my villain that I have to reign myself in and remind myself that they are not Umbridge.

So what do you do?

**Use What's Provided**

Let's say that just for kicks and giggles, you're writing a story that just _has_ to have a girl that seeks attention from our sometimes oblivious hero. Does Drew Tanaka ring any sort of bell? She's the vain, popular girl in Heroes of Olympus _and_ the Kane Chronicles. People, she is the _perfect_ b—cough, I'm not going to say it. Anyway, she's perfect for the role! She fits the stereotype because she _made_ the stereotype. Rick-sizzle practically handed her to us on a silver platter with the note _Knock yourselves out._

Another despisable character is Octavian. I've even used him as an antagonist in one of my own fics. Thin, scrawny, and just nasty all around, I think he's good to do some pretty blegh things. Why not expand it? These two may seem a bit borderline cliché, but I honestly think they're better than Rachel and Calypso, who are so overused, I cry a little every time I see them.

* * *

**Originality**

BUT, for those of you are insistent on using your own original baddie _[and I applaud to you most enthusiastically]_, reach into that blessed mind of yours and whip out the 'ole imagination, as it can do many an incredible thing. With a little thinking and standing in the shower for half an hour, an idea will most likely fall into your head. Still can't come up with anything? Inspiration is your new best friend. Do a bit of Greek mythology research. I do this myself, returning to Google _[salutes]_, Wikipedia _[bows]_ and Theoi _[a Greek Mythology encyclopedia. This thing is ambrosia from the gods, my friends]_ to look up multiple the bad guys that our ancient Greek friends already came up with for us.

Here, I'll give you a bad guy that I slightly created as an example. Feel free to use it.

**Lamia: In Greek Mythology, she was a queen that was transformed into a child-eating demon. Her eyes can come out, and she has the lower body of a snake. She can also be a vampire that seduces boys and then drinks their blood**

Now that I have the general myth, I can manipulate this a bit to fit my needs.

**A new girl moves to school, that somehow manages to seduce the boys. She constantly wears sunglasses to hide her face, and always wears snakeskin boots. She also causes contention among her admirers, changing their personalities drastically.**

Just by basing my new baddie off of the myth, I have a more original antagonist. Do a bit of digging around the interwebs, and you'll be able to find a goldmine of monsters and villains.

* * *

**Overview of Part 2**

1. Rick Riordan has a lot of nasties in his books. Instead of manipulating good characters, use the bad ones provided

2. Originality is the golden ticket. Either using imagination or researching Greek myths, and then 'translating' them to modern times is the best way to have your own personal bad guy you'll be proud of

* * *

And that concludes chapter two! I know that I said I'd talk about Chaos stories but I changed my mind, because you can't have a story without a bad guy. I hope this helps! **Again, no offense is intended to any writer on this website**.

Darlings, remember, practice makes perfect. Keep writing and you'll get it. Best of luck!


	3. Spelling and Punctuation

Children.

The response on the last chapter was breath-taking. Maybe it was because I was exercising while I was checking my email, but my inbox practically exploded with all ya'll.

And yes, I'm pushing back the Chaos story chapter again.

Heh.

Because we're gonna tackle something that's twice as much important! Yippee!

* * *

**Grammar! **

**The Thing That You MUST USE. ALWAYS.**

_[Because without it, no one will understand what the heck you're trying to say]_

A forewarning to all of you before I start the chapter: I am a stickler when it comes to grammar. I wouldn't place myself in the "Nazi" category just yet, but...I will apologize if I start ranting.

'Cause I might.

Okay.

Let's get cracking.

* * *

**Spelling**

Imagine this.

After taking my advice to stand in the shower for so long that it starts getting cold and your mom yells at you for wasting water, an idea falls from the heavens into your subconscious.

Praise the gods! It worked!

You leap out of the shower, hastily pulling on clothes, and storm down the stairs two at a time. Your laptop whirs to life and you open Word, typing as fast as you can. The words just seem to be flowing from your fingers! It's brilliant! The gods must have blessed you with this amazing idea! You gaze proudly at your twenty-three and a half page story (single-spaced, of course) and immediately post it on your account, just waiting for the hits and reviews to fly in.

But nothing happens.

"_What is wrong with these people!"_ you cry to the heavens, shaking your fist for good measure. _"Don't they see a good story sitting right under their nose?!"_

Unfortunately, they actually _don't_ see a good story. They see a jumbled mix of text type and random letters, promising rainbow zebra cookies if they review.

...

Okay, I know that the amount of sass above is suffocating, but I needed to set things up.

Kids, spelling is important. Incredibly important. More important the the President of these free United States and our sistah the Queen of England across the Pond.

They wouldn't be Queen nor President if they didn't have good spelling in all their speeches, laws, and whatever they do sitting in their offices.

It's a big deal.

Now, I can understand if you made a few spelling and grammatical errors because you were just so excited to share you story with other people, but I'm sorry.

I cannot excuse text talk. I just can't.

If you want readers, please type like a normal person, not a 13 year old girl that's obsessed with her new smartphone. (Sorry if you're a 13 year old girl obsessed with your new smartphone. I apologize)

Now, I'm going to take a guess here and assume that most of you use Word, OpenOffice, or some other word processor.

You see those little red squiggle lines under some of your words? That's Word's nice way of saying _"Hey, there little buddy! I noticed that you may have misspelled something there. Would ya look at that! Now, if you could just do me the small favor of right-clicking the word, I'll give you a whole list of options of what you might be trying to say!"_

Seriously, I love right-clicking words. It's incredibly helpful (minus the word relatable. It still hates me for that one, even if I spell it right) and it only takes .5 seconds. And if you're still not sure about the word, Google is your friend. Just search it. If you haven't spelled it too atrociously (I have done that), dear Google will tell you what it is you want. If it can't, see if you can use another word and still come across saying the same thing.

* * *

**Punctuation**

Spelling can sometimes annoy me, but punctuation can drive me up the wall if it isn't done correctly. Punctuation is the little dots and flecks in between words that _help the writing sound as natural as possible. _Imagine if we didn't have periods:

_Percy looked toward me, eyes shining My heart started pounding in my chest Why was this happening to me I was acting ridiculous He came over and kissed me softly on the cheek He turned around and then walked into his cabin The door shut behind him I stared He was hot I was the luckiest girl in the world Oh my gosh I'm gonna die I actually did die I had a heart attack because of his attractiveness_

The words just blend together and become extremely monotonous. I feel like a robot when I'm reading it. I was so annoyed that I didn't have any periods that I killed off my character at the end.

So please use your periods.

The next thing that I'm going to talk about in our punctuation section is commas. Now, I'll admit that sometimes I can get a little comma happy and fling them in somewhere unnecessary. But I'm working on it. See? Even your author makes mistakes in punctuation!

A comma is used to place a break in a sentence, and can help the little person inside your mind reading this take a breath. It is also used to connect a dependent clause to an independent clause, or for lists. _It is not a period. It. Is. Not. A. Period._

If you are using a comma as a period, you are committing a terrible crime known as the comma splice, which is connecting two independent clauses. No! Don't do it!

I'm going to give some examples now:

**BAD: **_Percy finally managed to hold Annabeth's hand without shaking_**_,_**_ it was a momentous occasion._

Agh, no! Even though a comma is there trying to do what's right, it can't. It is still bleeding the two sentences together because it isn't strong enough to hold the two together. Comma splice!

**GOOD: **_Percy finally managed to hold Annabeth's hand without shaking_**_. _**_It was a momentous occasion._

A period separates the two independent clauses and I now can breathe again.

But! This can carry over!

Good friends, we are now diving into the fancy world of the semicolon! Wow!

Semicolons are used to connect two similar independent clauses, as they are talking about the same thing.

Pour example:

_Percy finally managed to hold Annabeth's hand without shaking**;** it was a momentous occasion._

Both sections of the sentence are talking about Percy holding Annabeth's hand, so they can be meshed together into one sentence. But don't use a comma. English teachers will burn their eyes out if you do.

I haven't really explained these in depth, so if you want to know more about commas and semicolons, just Google it, my friends. You're on the internet anyway.

* * *

**Homophones**

Good heavens! What is that monstrosity of a word, Jenkins?!

_That_, my dear readers, is the word that refers to words that sound the same. This is also the part where I dip my toes into the pet peeves that I know _many_ readers have, so I'm going to just breeze by this and try to remain calm, while also saving your skin from an onslaught of angry reviews.

So let's start with the homophone that nearly everyone has a bone to pick with:

**Your/You're **

_[even I have a bone to pick with on this one]_

**Your** is the word you use when signifying possession. "_Your_ OTP." "_Your_ original character." "_Your_ ridiculous habit for not paying attention when they taught this in grade school."

**You're** is a contraction, combining the words YOU and ARE. "_You're_ so funny!" "_You're_ awesome, littlebitclever!" "_You're_ still not getting these two words right!"

Moving on.

**There/Their/They're**

**There** is the word referring to a place or idea. "I'm gonna hide over _there_ from littlebitclever. She's on a rampage." It can also be used abstractly. "_There_ are many reasons why I should learn to get these words right."

**Their** is referring to someone's possession. "_Their_ OTP is ridiculous! Who ships Chiron and Juniper?!"

**They're** is a contraction, combining the words THEY and ARE. Wouldja look at that! It's just like you're! Easy. "I love Percy and Annabeth! _They're_ the cutest couple!"

**To/Too/Two**

**To **is a preposition or infinitive verb. "I wish I could go _to_ Camp Half-Blood."

**Too** means 'also' or 'very'. If you need help with this word, substitute also or very for the word too, and if your sentence makes sense, you're the bees knees. "There are _too_ many people making these mistakes." "Can I come _too_?"

**Two** is the number 2. "I wish I had a _two_ dollar bill. They're cool."

Last one.

**Its/It's**

**Its** is referring to possession. "I'm not touching that hippocampus! _Its_ fur is all slimy!"

**It's **is a contraction of IT and IS. "_It's_ way too hot outside. I think I'll swim in the lake with the naiads."

There are many more, so if you want to get cleared up on others, Google the Oatmeal's '10 Words You Need to Stop Misspelling.' He knows what he's talking about.

* * *

**Other Little Tips**

This chapter has gone on long enough, so I'm just gonna clear up a few more things.

* * *

You know those dots that people use to signify trailing off? … Those things. They're called _ellipses_. And you only use three. Not five. Not seven. Just three. But, if you're ending a sentence with an ellipses, you use four because one of those dots is a period.

* * *

If you start with a quotation mark or a parenthesis, close it with a quotation mark or a parenthesis. I know, sometimes you just forget, but try to read over and catch the little mistakes. It can get incredibly confusing to the reader.

"_I can't believe you did this, Percy! Annabeth said, smiling. Percy had just surprised her with a stuffed owl.)_

Gah.

* * *

I know above that I said that you need to agree with Word on the red squiggles under words, but if you _know_ you're right, just go with it.

Pour example:

Relateable and relatable. Word is getting mad at me for both of them. However, Natsucrush106 assured me that relatable was correct, even though Word doesn't think so.

* * *

I know I didn't cover everything, because the English language is confusing and has so many rules and exceptions to rules that if I tried, this chapter would be twenty pages long. However, these things are still helpful! Also, I'm sorry if this chapter dragged a bit. But this stuff is important! It will help you on your journey to become a better writer.

Good luck, and happy writing!

P.S. My name isn't Jenkins. It's Lizzy.

P.P.S. I'm terribly sorry if I just completely failed at explaining this chapter. I'm not an English teacher. It's hard for me to explain because I already know all this myself.

P.P.P.S. I'm also sorry if I got something wrong.


	4. Original Story Lines (pt 1)

Hiya! I'm back!

Sorry for the absence. As you all know, summer is rapidly fading, and reality has recently slapped me hard across the face, causing a nasty bit of hypothetical bruising.

Now, I've decided that it can't be pushed back any longer. I'm going to jump on this rearing bull and hold on to the horns, because I might get trampled by what I'm about to talk about.

* * *

**Originality!**

**PART ONE**

_[the dreaded and over-used Chaos stories that everyone seems to need to have]_

Now, I've been on fanfiction for over a year, and I may have missed something. I never got the memo saying that the first story I'd write would be a Chaos story. Apparently it's required when joining fanfiction.

Wait.

Hold on.

Shut the front door.

**It's not required.**

Actually, it should be killed with a huge amount of fire and gasoline because poor PJO fanfiction is positively drowning in it.

Drowning.

In.

It.

* * *

**Storyline**

I want to first give a standing ovation with screaming crowds and confetti blasts to the person who originally came up with the story. You deserve a medal! Good on ya! But now, it's spiraled completely out of control. And for that, I'm incredibly sorry. I'm sure you didn't see this comin', now did you?

My first question is _why is it always the same?_ Is there some Chaos fanfiction guide out there saying that Percy _has_ to be betrayed by Annabeth, and obviously caught kissing his long-lost, finally-found brother that really sucks at everything? Or is awesome at everything?

Do Thalia and Nico_ have_ to be killed and resurrected?

And then Annabeth enters into depression, is granted immortality, and pretty much feels sucky for the rest of her miserable excuse for a life?

And then Percy comes storming in with a new appearance, awesome clothes, and galactic powers that _no_ demigod could have, throwing Annabeth's life into chaos...

Chaos.

See what I did there?

People, RUN AWAY FROM THIS PLOT. Run like the Minotaur is hot on your heels, because this plot will eat you alive with haters and flames.

It's the same thing over

And over

and over

over

over

over...

No, this story line is over. No more. Get rid of it. Expel it from your mind now. Use Occlumency against it, because it wants to be used!

For some reason, when thinking about this story line, it reminds me of Jabba the Hutt. It's fat, spoiled and disgusting. It's holding you on a chain as prisoner like Leia in a skanky outfit when you use this story line. Take your slave chains and strangle this monster, because it deserves to die a slow, painful death. I don't think the creator of this story thought it would turn into the obese alien that it now is, and I feel terribly sorry for them.

Please. Just stay away from this:

_A mistake. A terrible mistake._

_He showed up to camp one day, disheveled and bleeding. I was the one who found him staggering to the top of the hill, and I took him immediately to Chiron so he could be healed. His green eyes looked incredibly familiar, and he smiled feebly at me._

"_I'm Jesse," he said, giving me a bloody smile._

"_Annabeth," I said. "Don't worry. You'll get fixed."_

_But a light suddenly blazed above him. I stared, open-mouthed, at the revolving trident above his head._

"_No...it's not possible," I gasped. "You...you're..."_

"_A son of Poseidon, yeah," he said nonchalantly._

_Other campers suddenly appeared and took him away from me and carried him the rest of the way to the Big House. I couldn't stop staring._

_That was the mistake. _

_I couldn't stop staring. And soon it turned to something more. We would meet during the night, hiding on the beach or by the lake. Percy never knew. I didn't want him to. The news would have killed him._

_And that's exactly what happened._

_He had stumbled across us kissing on the beach, holding a handful of flowers that he was going to give to me. He took one look at us, and then vanished. I never saw him again. He might as well be dead._

_Years passed, which turned into centuries. I was rewarded with immortality for my services to Olympus. But Jesse had changed as well. A once amazing boy turned into an abusive boyfriend._

_It was all a mistake._

_A terrible mistake._

_But then, it all changed._

_It happened during lunch one day. What looked like a black hole appeared over the fire, and four teenagers stepped out, wearing black leather and sunglasses. They all had black hair and fair skin._

_And then I knew._

_He had returned._

_It was him._

_It was—_

OH-kay. I'm done. My rant is over. Sorry about that. _[I feel like I just wrote an equivalent to Twilight]_

If you want your stories to be as realistic as possible, just think about this. Do you _really_ think that Annabeth would ditch Percy for another random son of Poseidon that shows up on the Camp's doorstep?

No.

She wouldn't. She and Percy have been through way too much to throw all of what they have away. They've been through hell together.

Literally.

Keep this kids in character! Nearly every Chaos story that I've read stars a Bella-esque Annabeth, moaning and whining about how much she missed Percy and how miserable she was. Annabeth is tough! She didn't pull a Bella when Percy went missing. She actually went out and looked for him! Don't you think Annabeth would do the same in this however nearly impossible situation this is? Please refer back to my first chapter on Characterization, please.

And also, don't make empty promises. I've seen way too many _This one's different, I promise!_ Is it? Is it really? If it's different, _make it different! _Please! Prove us all wrong that Chaos stories don't have to be all the same! If you do that, I'll give you a thousand _drachmas_.

* * *

**Too Repetitive**

The characters are all the same, and it's so boring. Percy get's betrayed (check that off the list), Annabeth has crappy new boyfriend (got it), Thalia and Nico are killed (whoopee), and random Chaos kids visit Camp, where everyone is immortal (alrighty then).

And it doesn't seem like there's any action in the story either. I could just be missing it, _[because I stop reading the story in a rage-quit]_ but what exactly is the reason why the Kaos Krew show up at Camp? Because I'm pretty sure they're not there to show off their own powers and make everyone else jealous.

Don't jump on the bandwagon with _any_ story. Make it your own! Do the Moffat-like plot twists that everyone hates and secretly loves! _[like Sherlock. Are you kidding me with that one?!] _Come up with a killer battle that'll keep everyone on the edge of their seats. You want to come up with a story that will _keep readers interested. _Write one that leaves them _dying for the next update_. That's how you'll get a successful story.

* * *

**Your Original Story**

"_So LBC," you ask, "how on earth do I come up with my original story?!"_

I'm glad you asked, hypothetical reader! It's one word.

Inspiration.

Now, this is going to be tricky for me to explain.

Everyone gets inspiration. It just hits them in different ways. I get hit by ideas whenever I'm about to fall asleep, taking a shower, or distantly thinking about the subject. You know what I mean, right? Like, it just sneaks into my brain and then suddenly I'm running to my computer to make sure I get it all down.

Now, the ideas that you get might be...well, crappy. I've thought of things at 1:00 in the morning, and when I look back at them, I might as well have been high. But you've got to keep trying. Find the way that keeps you in tune with your idea-maker in that noggin of yours, because I can pretty much guarantee that everyone has one.

"_I can't think of anything!" you moan_.

Writer's block hits everyone, and it's the worst thing ever. And, I'm not the best person to turn to to conquer it. Google ways to blast it aside, meditate, do yoga, take a walk, _whatever_. It all depends on how you get that 'ole inspiration.

If all else fails, _turn to the books and myths_. Want to write about something? Take a new angle at it! My first story that I published on this site was what Annabeth did while Percy was gone, because you never learn about it. Think of what might happen after the whole Prophecy mess. Find things that haven't been discussed in the books and write about those!

OR, hit the myths. The Greeks have a gazillion myths that you could write about with your own Percabeth spin or Thalico or whatever.

It all depends on you.

I know that isn't the best advice, but it's true.

* * *

Sorry if this wasn't as helpful as other chapters _[which goes without saying...were those other chapters helpful?] _Telling someone to get an original idea is hard, because it isn't something that you can spoon-fed.

Be that as it may, practice makes perfect! Continuously writing will help you get better! So keep those gears in your brain a-turning and I hope to see you all soon!

* * *

**P to the S:** A note to my wonderful reviewers! Some of you have left me some reviews asking me to go over your stories or characters. I love to look at what you've come up with, but some of you have left them as guests, or users that I can't reply to. If you want me to look over your story or OC, leave me a PM so I can reply to you. (Seth Halo, I'm talking to you) Thank you all for the wonderful responses, and I am a-o-kay with looking over what you've written if you'd like.


	5. Reviews, Comments, and Feedback

Welcome, ladies and gents, to the fifth chapter of the Fanfiction Guide!

First, this chapter is a bit shorter than the other ones. It's because I wrote this one really quickly at like, 12:30 in the morning. I'm sure I have more to say on it, but I think this is fine. Also, if things don't make much sense (I've read it over a couple times, but you never know) it's because I, you know, was high on tiredness. So yeah. Sorry if you're left in a daze after this chapter because you're so confused.

Second, I am going to start out this chapter with a disclaimer: Yes, I can be a filthy hypocrite. I know. Since I've said it here, this is no need to point it out in the reviews or in an angry PM. I thank ye.

With that said, you all must be wondering what it is I'm going to talk about to day.

* * *

**Reviews, Comments, and Feedback**

_[the thing that everyone wants]_

Now, I'm going to be straight with you. I can be found at fault with this. I did this a lot especially with the first fanfic that I first wrote.

But, slowly, I've learned. And now I'm going to share this new found knowledge with you all.

REVIEWS.

AREN'T.

IMPORTANT.

Probably just blew your mind.

* * *

**Be Proud of What You've Written**

A _lot_ of fanfictions that I've read always ask for reviews at the beginning or the end of chapters (or the beginning AND end in some cases), or in the summaries of their stories. I'm okay with this—even though I try hard not to do it (and I'll explain why in a sec)—but the one thing that absolutely kills me is when people say this:

**i want 50 reviews, so i won't update until i get that much :3 lolz so get reviewing or i'll stahp writing kk?**

First, text speech in a story? Unacceptable.

Second, _PEOPLE WILL WANT TO REVIEW WHEN THEY DARN TOOT'N WANT TO. _Don't force ANYONE to review because then you'll just get a lot of annoyed readers. I guess it can probably work for some people, but honestly, whenever I see someone grovelling for reviews, I die a little inside.

Don't let reviews control you or how often you update. Most of the time, the reviews you get are either "OMG THIS STORY IS SO GOOD UPDATE" or "wut is dis u should stop writig rite now it suks." We're shooting for the former rather than the latter. _[Though let's be honest here. Would the latter really insult you? I don't think so]_ There is a very minimal chance that you will actually get some constructive criticism, good feedback, or high school English teacher classic book analysis complete with symbolism, tone, and metaphor. Just putting that out there.

Isn't the reason why you're writing on this website in the first place is because you think it's fun? You're doing it for your own enjoyment, and it's a bonus if other people like it too. If you're having fun, reviews shouldn't even matter.

I am now going to quote Charlie McDonnell*. I'm going to paraphrase. A lot.

"_I don't ever tell anyone to [review] unless I have a decent reason to...You are being nice enough to give me a bit of your time and attention. So I try not to waste any of that time. There are basically two ways for me to get you to [review]. The first way is for me to stand here and tell you '[Review!]' But the other way is for me to make the best content that I can, and assume that if you generally like it, you will [favorite] it, or if you have something to say, you'll [review], and if you want to [follow] then you will."_

I changed some of the words in there to fanfiction crap instead of the YouTube stuff that he was talking about. But the message is still the same.

What Charlie talked about is typically the system that I follow. I trust the fact that what I'm putting out is something that I've really worked hard on, and if people want to review/favorite/follow, then they will. I'm leaving it up to you—the reader. Trying to force someone to review is like trying to force-feed someone creamed asparagus. They just won't like it.

* * *

**Your Hits**

Just because people aren't reviewing, declaring their presence and making sure that everyone knows that they're there, doesn't mean that people aren't viewing your story. You can look at your traffic on your account page, and look at how many people are actually viewing your story. The amount of reviews that you have will 99.99999% ALWAYS be lower than your traffic. Do you really think that the 12,000 people that saw your story would leave a review?

No.

They won't.

It's because the majority of them are incredibly lazy. I am at fault here. A story is really good, but I really just don't feel like typing out a few extra words. I know. It's lame. But don't go pointing fingers at me. I'm sure you do it too.

Also, look at how many people are following your story. One of my stories has nearly 100 followers. I am guaranteed that 100 people will get an email saying that I updated. And even though I won't be getting 100 reviews every week, it's nice knowing that there is a solid foundation of people that will be seeing the content that I created.

And hey, don't be sad if you have only 2 followers and 1 favorite. That's why this guide is here.

* * *

**BONUS: Getting Well Known**

Now we're getting deeper into the matter of my opinion.

_I_ think the best way to get well known (besides writing good content) is favorite and review _other_ people's fanfictions. There are going to be those random people that will look over people's reviews, and if you constantly leave behind feedback and reviews, the author will not only be grateful, but you're also putting your name out there, letting that random person find you.

And even though what I'm saying will not make reviews less important to some of you, shouldn't you review someone else's story to give them what they want too?

Did that make sense? That was a long sentence.

* * *

So basically what I'm trying to say here is that _reviews don't matter_. You're doing this for yourself, not for them. Don't get controlled with how many reviews you have. They really don't mean a thing. What matters is how proud of the work _you_ are.

How's that for ending a chapter all inspirational-like?

~littlebitclever

*If you want to view Charlie McDonnell's video that I quoted, search My YouTube Rules (Part 1) by charlieissocoollike. He talks about some helpful things. I particularly like Rule #3. It also backs up what I've been saying.


	6. Original Story Lines (pt 2)

Yo!

Hello my vonderful friends. It's time, yet again, for another writing guide. Today, we are going to finish part 1 of that one chapter that was a few chapters ago.

Yay!

Also, this is completely unimportant, but I have question for you all. How do you pronounce Thalia? My sister asked me the other day, and we both said different things. I say tah-LEE-yuh, and she says thay-LEE-yuh. My friend says thah-LEE-yuh.

I don't know.

OKAY. Let's get cracking.

* * *

**Originality!**

**PART TWO**

_[the stereotypical, cliché, Annabeth-goes-to-Goode]_

Whoopee!

So yes.

Annabeth goes to Goode.

Yup.

Where to begin?

So yes. I think that this will generally follow the same format as the Chaos chapter. Just, you know, with different content.

* * *

**Storyline**

_Act I Scene I—Apartment_

Most of the Annabeth-Goode blah blah stories that I've come across either have Annabeth waking up to excitedly start school in New York, dressing up and making her way to campus OR Percy waking up 'meh I don't want to go to school so boring' attitude 'mom five more minutes', without a blissful clue as to what will twirl into his future in a few short hours.

_Act I Scene II—Goode High School_

Again, it varies. Percy or Annabeth? Typically Annabeth.

_I climbed out of the car, thanking my Dad for the ride, and stared at the building of the high school that I would now be attending. I started towards it, bag swinging on my shoulder, and approached the nearest group of people._

"_Excuse me," I said._

_They all turned._

"_New student, huh?" a boy asked._

"_Yes," I replied. "I was wondering if you knew my boyfriend, Percy Jackson?"_

_They stared at me for a few seconds before they burst out laughing. _

"_They're always the same," a girl sneered. "Claiming to be his girlfriend. What idiots."_

_My temper flared. "Excuse me?" I repeated, a dangerous tone entering my voice._

"_Listen, New Girl," the boy said. "Percy doesn't date. Claims he has a 'girlfriend'—" he drew quotes with his fingers "—in California. So buzz off."_

"_You're joking." I scoffed. "I actually am—"_

_But a shout erupted from behind me, making the boy and girl jump. The girl's eyes widened, jumping from me to the person storming up behind me._

_I turned around and saw my goofy Seaweed Brain practically skipping toward me. "ANNABETH!"_

And scene.

You guys, this wasn't that hard to write. I have seen so many fics like this that I didn't even have to think about what to say. Maybe that's why people choose to write Annabeth-Goode stories? Because they're just easy?

Secondly, it's obvious that the girl in Scene II has a crush on Percy. And you know, his friends never believed that he actually had a girlfriend, and that he was just being nice to the girls that asked him out, not realizing that he was actually telling the truth, and now is best girl friend is really hurt because she thought she had a chance, and now she doesn't because of Annabeth showing up, which makes her hate Annabeth and blah blah blah run-on sentence.

Again, it's just easy.

You know, after that, it's all a blur. I really don't know what happens next. That's really the whole story. Annabeth arrives. Percy sees. They scream. Run. Kiss. Jealous girl. The end. It could pretty much be it's own one-shot. This could just be ignorance on my part (since this is normally the part where I stop reading) but just like the Kaos Krew showing up at CHB, what happens next? Seriously, what? Maybe showing off in Greek or sparring in gym, but that's about it.

The end.

And P.S. I've never heard of a Greek class in my life. It's normally Latin class, and even that's rare. I think my school offered it as an early-morning class. But srsly, what school teaches Ancient Greek as a class? Psshh ain't nobody got time for that.

* * *

**Too Repetitive**

_How to write _Annabeth Goes to Gooode _fanfiction in 9 easy steps!_

1. Annabeth arrives

2. Joyful reunion

3. Jealous friend of Percy's

4. Lunch

5. Greek (Which Paul teaches)

6. Gym (where they spar and Annabeth and Percy fight to the amazement of the crowd)

7. Go home

8. See you tomorrow

9. Rinse and repeat

It's the same over and over and over again. Honestly, I think the only time that this Annabeth-Goode story is acceptable (now) is when Annabeth runs in, grabs Percy from school, and then yanks him back to CHB because there's some emergency.

If you want to avoid being like everyone else on Fanfiction, _stop doing what everyone else is doing. _If you're saying "This one's different, I promise!" then _make sure it is, dang it._ Jump off the bandwagon and snap your fingers in a Z formation, head rotation, because you are better than it. You just need to prove it. The bandwagon is for lazy people.

(Really though. What happens after the first day of school? Do they find a demigod? What? I really don't know)

* * *

But friends! There are actually some pretty good Goode stories floating around out there. This first one is one of my favorite stories on the entire website. It's _seriously _good.

It's called **Goode Highschool for Exceptional Children **by **TheArtemis**. The summary is as follows:

"_Percy Jackson isn't like other teens. His reflexes are crazy fast. He enrolls into Goode Highschool for Exceptional Children, a school for kids with exceptional abilities. There he meets the popular Annabeth Chase, who's ability is a secret to the student body. As they start to uncover Goode's many secrets, they find themselves getting pulled in deeper and deeper. PERCABETH FLUFF"_

It really is an awesome story. Super powers and Percabeth. It's a win-win! Unfortunately, she hasn't updated since June, but it's still extremely worth reading. 25 Chapters of beauty right there.

The second is one that I haven't really read, but people seem to really like. Be warned, it's rated T for language, alcohol, and abuse. It's called **Goode High School for Insane Youths **by **JuicyFruity39**. I've skimmed the first couple chapters, and it seems really well written and exciting. Here's the summary:

"_After stabbing her stepmother, Annabeth Chase is sent to Goode High School for Insane Youths. On her journey to 'reform' herself, she meets friends like Grover Underwood, Nico Di Angelo, Luke Castellan and strange raven haired, sea green eyed boy named Percy who has a dark secret."_

So yes. Sorry, this chapter was a bit of a rant on the Goode fics out there, but I still gave you a couple stories to czech out. Next chapter will actually have some advice/information/whatever it is that I'm doing. I'm already planning it out.

See you on the next chapter!

~littlebitclever

* * *

_**ATTENTION! THIS IS IMPORTANT!**_

The government is bringing back SOPA, even though the internet spoke out against it. Several times it was changed and tweaked a little to slip it under the radar, but we kept exposing it. THEY'RE DOING IT AGAIN. BUT THIS TIME IT AFFECTS US EVEN MORE. What it is basically doing is making the streaming of copywritten material a felony. _A felony_. This means that it is taking away our creativity with** fanfiction **and **fanart. **This means _all of us on fanfiction could be found guilty of streaming copywritten material and be placed in prison for felony charges._

Let's not make that happen! There is a petition on the Whitehouse website to stop SOPA 2013, and it needs about 19,000 more signatures to get a total of 100,000. I've signed twice with different emails. It only takes thirty seconds to create an account and get us to our goal. So _please_, sign the petition! You can go to **petitions (DOT HERE) whitehouse (DOT HERE) gov (SLASH) petition (SLASH) stop-sopa-2013 (SLASH) LMzMVrQF ** or visit my profile for the link. Please please sign the petition!


	7. Past and Present Tense

Bonjour!

So, my dear friends, again I apologize for a late update. I will say, however, that my excuse is pretty valid. It takes a long time to pack up all of your belongings to move out-of-state to _college_.

Yeah.

I'm pretty dang scared, nervous, excited, and I'm leaving _today. **Today.**_

Ugh, bottom of the social food-chain once again.

So to keep my mind off of potentially moving away from home and taking care of myself with little money (yay) I decided to write this chapter.

_"So LBC," you ask. "What do you have planned for us today while procrastinate facing your future?"_

I'm glad you asked!

* * *

**Tenses!**

_[The Past and the Present]_

I'm not entirely sure how long this chapter is going to be. So let's just roll with it, shall we?

B-T-Dubs, I'm doing this chapter to fulfill a request left by a lovely Danny-Shells, a very nice person and fellow Sherlockian, like myself.

And, you know, this is actually a good topic to talk about.

Let's get started, good friends.

* * *

**Past Tense**

Now, this can get a little tricky, and it might be so confusing that I probably won't be able to explain it very well, so you might need to turn to your English teacher _[or the internet]_ for help. But you know what? I'm gonna try anyway. Please don't shoot me if it doesn't make sense or if I'm wrong. Thank ye kindly.

Past tense is used to describe things that happened in the past. Duh. There are a couple different types of Past Tense (ugh) but I'm first going to focus on the Simple Past.

The **Simple Past** is basically having a verb and adding 'ed' at the end, such as _danced, sewed, _and _jumped. _And then those are those annoying irregular verbs where you don't add 'ed' at the end, like _sang_, _ran, _and _bought_. But, the similarity between the irregular and 'ed' verbs is, you know, they describe an action that happened in the past.

_She **danced**._

_He **sewed.**_

_The dog **jumped** over the fence._

_She **sang** a song._

_They **ran** around the track._

_I **bought** new shoes yesterday._

All of those examples were things that happened in the past. Not all of them say exactly when in the past it happened, but it happened in the past all the same.

Make sense?

Kinda?

Okay.

For examples of books written in past tense, Harry Potter and PJO are the ones, and I'm gonna pull an example from PJO to show a passage written in past tense:

_I looked over at the white van. Everybody was getting out. Grover pointed toward one of the big buildings lining the Mall. Thalia nodded, and the four of them trudged off into the cold wind._

I know this is past tense because of the 'ed' verbs. Looked, pointed, nodded, trudged. Percy is describing what he's seeing, but in the past tense.

I still hope you guys get it. This chapter is wordy.

The next type of the past tense is called** Past Continuous**. This is self-explanatory - it describes things that happened in the past continuously. You know, it kept happening, or it happened over and over. Not just happening once like Simple Past. This uses the past tense of _be (was/were)_ and adding an 'ing' at the end of a verb, such as "my head was aching".

_Was_ is the past tense of _be_, and _aching_ is the past tense of _ache_.

_Be_ is a weird verb. The past tenses of _be_ are _was_ and _were_. _Was_ is used for singular, such as talking about yourself or someone else, and _were_ is used for plural—talking about multiple people or things.

Examples!

_When I came home from school, my mom **was doing** the dishes._

_I **was writing** a letter to my friend._

_They **were meeting** at the soccer field._

_The dogs **were playing** in the grass._

Get it?

Kinda?

Moving on.

Then there's the **Past Perfect**. Yay. Past Perfect uses the verb _had_ and then the verb (in past tense) you want.

_I **had finished** all of my chores._

_I **had bought **__a new pair of shoes._

But then Past Perfect and Past Continuous decided to have an affair, and that's where we get the **Past Perfect Continuous**. Say that five times fast. PPC meshes the rules together, so you use _had_, chuck in a _been, _and then the _ing_ at the end of the verb.

_I **had been living **__in Canada all of my life._

_It **had been raining** for hours._

Phew.

I think that's all I'm going to say for Past Tense. My brain now hurts just thinking about it.

* * *

**Present Tense**

Okay.

I can do this.

Examples of books written in Present Tense would be the Hunger Games and the Matched series. I personally prefer the Past Tense, just because that's what I normally read and what I use to write my own stuff, but really, if you like Present Tense more, go for it.

An example of the Present Tense from Matched, if you please:

_The Officer blows his whistle to dismiss us. I walk away, staying slightly separate from everyone else. I've walked a few steps when I hear Ky behind me._

"_Anything you want to ask me?" he asks softly. _

_I shake my head no, turn my face away. He doesn't have any words for me._

I know that this is Present Tense because of the verbs. Blows, walk, I've, hear, asks, shake, turn. If I was writing in Past Tense, the verbs would be blew, walked, I'd, heard, asked, shook, turning. (both regular and irregular verbs, if you caught that)

Getting it so far?

Good.

And here we go.

**Present Simple**. Present Simple uses the raw verb. Work, run, play, brush, throw, murder, suffocate, and so on.

_I work at McDonalds_

_I run the 100 meter dash_

_I play soccer_

_I brush my hair_

_I throw my stuff into a suitcase_

_I murder Moffat_

_He suffocates_

Yeah.

Remember, when you're talking about yourself, use the raw verb. When you're talking about someone/something else, add an 's' at the end of the verb—like how I said "He suffocates." Because, you know, Moffat has probably ended my will to live right now.

We'll talk about that later.

**Present Continuous** is the same thing as Past Continuous, except you—obviously—use the present tense of 'be' (are/is/always) instead of past tense.

_She** is smacking** her boyfriend for cheating on her._

_Shut up. The kids **are sleeping**._

_You are **always reading**._

_My French **is improving**._

_Moffat **is ruining** my life._

Pretty easy, no? Yes?

Moving on.

Present Perfect is using the present use of the verb _have (have/has)_ and the _past participle_ of a verb, and** Present Perfect Continuous** is chucking in a _been_ after the _have/has_ and using the 'ing' form of a verb.

_They **have sung **their song—_Present Perfect

_It **has been raining** for ages—_Present Perfect Continuous

I think so, anyway.

* * *

**Watch Your Tenses**

Okay, I'm turning away from explaining it all and I'm now going to rant a little. Do not switch from past to present. _Do not switch from past to present. **Do not switch from PAST to PRESENT.**_

These tenses are two completely different things and you can NOT swap between the two randomly in the chapter. It's like water and oil. _They don't mix_.

This, however, can be acceptable when talking about it from different character's points of view, like Annabeth being first person present tense, and Percy being third person past tense, but _that's it._

I'm going to be nice and give an example:

**_Annabeth POV_**

_I walk away from the pavilion to the Athena cabin. I avoid the Apollo cabins basketballs and quickly sprint inside. After I slam the door shut, I pore over my blueprints and I try to think of a new design for Aphrodite's new gazebo. Someone suddenly knocks on the door, and I open it. It is Percy, and he leans against the side of the doorframe._

"_Whatcha up to?" he asks._

"_Nothing," I reply. "Just working on some things for Olympus."_

**_Percy POV_**

"_Sweet," Percy said. "Can I come in?"_

"_Sure." Annabeth moved out of the way and Percy strode inside._

"_You could really clean up this place. Aren't you in charge of that this week?"_

_Annabeth scowled. "If you don't like it you can leave."_

_Percy smirked. "Nah. I want to be with you."_

_Annabeth rolled her eyes and swept her hair into a ponytail, turned her back to him, and bent over the blueprints once more._

Okay, so writing in present tense is just really hard for me. So sorry if Annabeth's blurb just sucked. It's awkward to read, I know. But I think you get the idea. Annabeth is present tense, and Percy is past. Do NOT do this:

_Percy carefully looped his fingers in between Annabeth's and squeezed her hand. She glanced up at him, smiled, and looked back at the movie._

"_What do you think about our date so far?" Percy whispered._

_Annabeth scowls. "Percy, shut up," she says. "I can't hear."_

_Percy rolls his eyes and grabs a few more pieces of popcorn, promptly placing them in his mouth._

"_Whatever, Wise Girl," Percy said, his mouth full. "How many times have you seen this movie?"_

"_Seven," Annabeth replies. "And I can watch _Inception _as many times as I want."_

So friends. How many times did I switch tenses?

Three times.

I started in Past, swapped to Present with Annabeth's response, returned to Past, and then back to Present for the last line.

Remember, _said_ is different from _says. Asked _is different from _asks. _So please. Watch your tenses. Choose one and stick with it.

* * *

Anyway, I'm really sorry if this chapter was just confusing. It makes sense to me because, uh, I wrote it and I don't really have a problem of mixing the two up, but I truly apologize if everything just glazed over. If you still need help, Google is your friend. Or your English teacher. School has started by now, yes?

Phew, four pages in Word single spaced. I need to finish packing.

I'll see you all on the next update, don't you worry. Although, I don't know when it will be. I'll be getting settled for a couple weeks, getting used to my new life and whatever, so it might be a while. Classes start for me on Monday, so I might be in shock because I will now _have homework._

Anyway, I'll see you when it comes!

~littlebitclever

P.S. If you were wondering why I was suddenly acting all hostile towards Moffat in the middle of the chapter, I took a break writing this and watched the Angels Take Manhattan (Doctor Who episode) and I'm still currently in denial. The Ponds definitely were my favorite companions, and I just...

Watch out. If you follow me, there might be a Doctor Who fanfic coming out about that episode and i'm just oign to cr y in the fetal positoin now...


	8. First, Second, and Third Person

Heyo my friends.

Thank you so much for all of the amazing feedback that I've gotten recently. You've all been incredibly kind.

However, I do want to clear something up.

I was left a review that was...stern. Basically, they said that since I spelled a word wrong, I had no right to criticize people who also have that problem.

First, I know. That doesn't seem fair.

Second, typically before every chapter, I try to say that there will be mistakes, I'm not perfect, and I'm just doing this for fun. I'm not an English teacher, so you can't really take what I say as gospel truth.

Third, the word that I was criticized on spelling wrong was in _a different language_. I've taken French for four years, and the phrase that I said was _pour exemple_, which is 'for example' in English. So while it looks incorrect, I can assure you all that it isn't.

That is all.

Back to business.

Let's begin!

* * *

**Narratives!**

_[first, second, and third person]_

So.

This chapter might be a bit short, as it's not a tough concept, but it's still important to know :) This is the point of view of how your story is told, and, you know, that's kinda important.

You're set with a main character, a plot, even the tense that you're going to tell your story in. But is it going to be an omnipotent being telling the story from third person, will we get a first-hand experience with our own character telling the story, or will _we_ be the characters?

**First Person**

I'm not sure which one is the most used: first or third. Either way, these are the ones that are used 99.56% of the time when telling a story.

First person is when we hear it directly from the character, from their point of view, and what it is that they're thinking. This is when they use the words _I, me, _etc. The PJO series is written in first person. We know, because Percy is the one telling us the story, not some random narrator. He says stuff like "I swung my sword," "I kissed Annabeth," or "_so-and-so_ said to me".

Pretty easy.

_SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION_

_You wanna read a first-person story? Then check out my two fics, Missing and Forgotton, told from the points of view from the daring Annabeth and the hilarious Percy!_

Whatever.

Typically, the ones that are written the best in First Person are the ones that are written by the actual author. I've found that when people try to write in first person on Fanfiction, they can't quite get the characters right. So really be committed if you want to write in First Person. You've got to know the characters well in order to portray them correctly.

It's hard, believe me. If you don't do it right, you might get slaughtered with reviews telling you over and over again.

* * *

**Third Person**

This is the 'Harry Potter' tense. Harry doesn't narrate, some man on high from the clouds done. He pokes his head through the water vapor and surveys the scene, and then jots it down in a book and publishes it. This guy must have some amazing mind-reading superpower, because we can read the character's thoughts. The HoO series is also written in Third Person.

I've found that writing in Third Person is easier, because then (this is just for me) I feel like I can focus more on what's going on around the characters rather than what's going on in their head.

But that's just me.

_I'M DOING IT AGAIN_

_Do you want to read a Third Person story? Do you like reading drabbles and one-shots? Then Fragments is the story for you!_

*cough*

With this one, I think that you can get a bit of leeway on Fanfiction. People still might get mad if you get the characters wrong, but I can see Third Person acting as a sort of shield for you.

* * *

**Second Person**

This is what that little 0.44% is that we hardly ever see. The reason why is because that this is when the main character is _you_.

Compare this to a video game. You're the main character saving Hyrule, gunning down the bad guys, or trying to rescue Princess Peach. You're going through the adventure yourself.

Before video games we had those 'choose-your-own-adventure' books. These are they.

Remember those Goosebumps books, where you were on a field trip with your class to some museum and

_You get separated from the group (turn to page 34)_

_You and your friend get lost among the sculptures (turn to page 12)_

_You stay with the group (turn to page 2)_

Sound familiar?

These aren't as common, and I don't think that they're allowed on Fanfiction, so you might as well forget about all this.

But yeah, second person narrative.

* * *

So this wasn't much of a chapter, but I felt like it was still necessary in some way.

Thanks for being so patient, you guys. You're the greatest :)

Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to watch a movie and eat ice cream with my roommates.

Happy writing!


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